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August 1, 2012

Eccentric Millionaires Are Not Necessarily Good Leaders

Eccentric. It is what we call a crazy person with money. Isn't it amusing that we are so impressed with wealth that we even refer differently to those who have it?

We are all familiar with eccentric millionaires doing some fairly crazy things. Because of their money, we tend to be far more accepting of this sort of behavior than we would be if they were in our economic group. It is almost as if we have a tendency to look up to anyone with more wealth than us.

Then again, most of us know better than to assume that someone with money would make a good leader simply because of his or her wealth. We may overlook some of their strange behavior or odd beliefs, but we aren't exactly rushing to elect them to positions of leadership. We recognize that they may be hopelessly out of touch with the reality in which we live, and we cannot help wondering about their real allegiances. This is especially true in those rare cases where an eccentric millionaire appears to believe some truly bizarre things.

Being wealthy, by itself, does not make one a good leader. In fact, extreme wealth can make one so out-of-touch than one would find it quite difficult to lead effectively. The combination of extreme wealth, clear evidence that one is out-of-touch, and the presence of religious delusions ought to color our perceptions of an individual. At the very least, it makes sense that we would have serious questions about such a person's suitability for a position of leadership.